Dear Friends and Supporters of the Virginia Creeper Trail…
As you know, the entire region has been rocked in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. The small town of Damascus – the halfway point on the Creeper Trail — was particularly hard hit. Damascus and the other communities most impacted remain foremost in our thoughts. The trail between Abingdon and Damascus has now reopened and you can help support the businesses of both towns by visiting during this holiday season.
However, 18 miles of the 34-mile mile Creeper Trail, from Damascus to Whitetop, have been devastated. To date, 18 trestles have been lost – destroyed or washed away. In extended sections, the trail itself no longer exists… reclaimed by the rushing, flooded creeks. Trailheads, access points, amenities and signage have been destroyed as well.
This grand, historic trail has provided unforgettable and magical experiences to hundreds of thousands of visitors and residents for almost four decades. The trail is the lifeblood of the town of Damascus and one of the top economic drivers in the region… over the years becoming synonymous with the growing, vibrant outdoor economy of SW Virginia.
The Creeper Trail is supported by a vast and varied community – a community first of trail users but also of small businesses who depend on the trail as their livelihood, along with the municipalities of Damascus and Abingdon who own and maintain their sections, Washington County, federal and state legislatures and governing bodies, civic leaders, our nonprofit partners, Grayson County, and of course, the US Forest Service, where the devastation occurred within their boundaries.
It will take time and significant funding to rebuild, and no single entity can shoulder the entire rebuilding alone. To that end, the Virginia Creeper Trail Conservancy has launched a “Recovery Campaign” to augment as much funding as possible. And that’s where each of you come in…as we rebuild, your support and commitment to the Creeper Trail today and its future is essential. As we move together as a trail community into the recovery phase — strengthened, determined and committed — we look towards the rebuilding of the trail to create a sustainable future across the region…and it will take each of us, working together, to get there.
The motto of the Virginia Creeper Trail is “One trail… by the hands of many”. Never in the history of this majestic trail has “the hands of many” been more needed.
